When Nick
and I first got engaged and the wedding plans began, Nick’s mom Sandy
asked if there was anything she could do to help. Well I tasked her with
the Rehearsal Dinner. It was not an abnormal request, as often time the
groom’s family hosts the rehearsal dinner. My only request to Sandy was
to make it Hawaiian themed.

The
reason for the Hawaiian theme was because Hawaiian shirts have been a
bit of a running joke between me and Nick. From the beginning of our
relationship we always fought over Nick’s Hawaiian shirts. I HATE THEM! I
think Hawaiian shirts are extremely ugly and should be reserved for
either little boys 6 & under or old balding retired men that are
actually in Hawaii. Well Nick loves Hawaiian shirts. He has a little
collection of them, and there has been a history of me “accidently”
wrecking 1 or 2 of them. I hate it when he wears them, and so when he
wants to get back at me for something I’ve done, he will put one on.
Also, over the last year or so, my dad and brother have bought Hawaiian
shirts and wear them when Nick and I go over for family dinner in honour
of Nick. Well, when talks of getting married occurred, my mom joked
that we should make the wedding Hawaiian themed, and that way all the
guest and wedding party could all wear Hawaiian shirts. That idea
horrified me, so as a compromise (isn’t that what marriage is all
about?) I suggested that we make our Rehearsal Dinner Hawaiian themed,
and that way Nick would get to wear his Hawaiian shirt, as well as
everyone else coming to the Rehearsal.

Well
Sandy (with Megan’s help) outdid herself. She did an amazing job putting
everything together. It was held in the restaurant that is located at
the back of Nick’s dads store in DeWinton, which is only a few doors
down from the actual DeWinton Community Hall where the wedding was being
held. When you walked in, Nick’s brother Kris would greet you and put a
flower lei around your neck. All the tables were dressed up with Hawaiian table
clothes, glasses with little umbrella’s in them, Hawaiian flowers and
little candles. There were stings of Hawaiian flowers everywhere,
Hawaiian paintings and masks had been hung up, and even some Hawaiian
music was playing in the background. The food was incredible! Bianca and
Crystal just kept talking about how good the food tasted, especially
the ham and chicken. Sandy had even made a paper Mache pig that looked
like it has been roasted in a pit. She also placed a paper Mache apple
in the mouth of the pig. It was such a fun night. Nick (reluctantly, as
he is not one for making speeches) and I toasted our family and bridal
party, and finally around 7:30pm, we all drove or walked over to the
DeWinton Community Hall to do a quick run-through of the ceremony.

We ended
up having a little fun while rehearsing. The whole night was great as it
was a chance for the Bridal Party to all get to know one another before
the big day. We all figured out where we were going and what we were
doing and we all shared a bunch laughs and jokes in between. We began to
wrap things up around 9:00pm, and I was at home in bed by 10:00pm.

Again,
thank you so much Megan and Sandy for such an amazing Rehearsal Dinner.
It was so much fun, and I can tell that you guys put in a lot of time
and effort into it. I couldn’t have asked for anything more and everyone
that was at the Rehearsal Dinner had a great time.